Chapter 57: Surprise! Maybe Not

Cross-over from various games, books, anime, manga, and movies.

The familiar characters you see here belong to their respected authors and owners.

'Thoughts'

"Active skill name or magic spell"

'Active skill name or magic spell in thought'

"Activation phrase"

'Activation Phrase in thoughts'

"Speech"

*action*

Time*

Noise*

(Location)

[Skill Name] - Passive or Active - AP cost: or none

Description: Info on skill

[Item Type]: [Type]

[Name]: [Item Name]

Durability: 100%/100%

Quality: Poor - Common - Uncommon - Epic - Legendary - Ascendant

Grade: E-/EX

Value: [System Point]/(Cannot be sold to [Persona System])

Description: Info on [Item Name]

[Extra Info]: [Extra Info]

Chapter 57: Surprise! Maybe Not

Days?: Trouble Everywhere You Go! Part 4

(Atlas: Atlas City: South District: Atlas' Military's A7 Base)

"No." Izaya was the first one to speak out among us, "Do you have any idea how much effort I had to put in, to rescue these two without resorting to bursting through this place without a single plan? But, you did that anyway, throwing all the plans I came up with to get us out of here without any notices."

I raise both my hands to show that I know my mistake and apologize for it. "In my defense, I wasn't technically in the right state of mind a few minutes ago if you haven't realized when I arrived." I defend myself the best I could think up on the spot.

"In your cases, that no longer could be used as your defense for your actions. Since everyone by now should you're close to snapping already. If that wasn't enough; you actually went insane and regain back sanity somehow." Izaya pointed out, these facts while ignoring the others looking at me with disbelief. As if the concept of regaining back your sanity after going to insane never crossed their minds.

"Okay, then I forgot. Alright?" I shrug at Izaya since I know he is right and I still find myself dumbfounded I regain back somewhat of my sanity. But, I feel like I never had it in the first place after being reborn into this world.

Weiss walks over to Izaya and places her hand on his shoulder, to calm him down. Even as she felt annoyed by her friend's actions, but nonetheless, she still knew about his mental problems and wouldn't fault him too badly.

This was the moment Yukiko decided to speak now, "Well, before you came here in a shocking manner. I was explaining to everyone how Narberal and I got captured. Before you ask the same question as the others did. Narberal and I didn't leave the Apartment Building, but went through the rooms instead, because we ran out of [Bandages] and other stuff for medical treatment. We could have gone to Shigure for those kinds of things; however, seeing how dangerous it was outside at the moment. We decided to just continue looking through all the rooms since no one was there and the doors were unlocked. But, ended up getting captured by some Hunters that entered the building without everyone's notice."

Narberal looked like she wanted to say something to defend themselves before looking around and notice something that caught her attention. "We need to leave now. If we wish to regroup with the other back at the Apartment."

Looking around I just realized, that Ruby and Nora are missing. Which means those two are back at that Apartment to watch over Jaune and Ren's unconscious bodies.

"Yeah... let's not stay here where an army of [Paladins], [Knights], Hunters, soldiers, and so on. I've just come back from a battle with those guys and rather not do it again with having to watch over you guys." I said to everyone, but mainly towards everyone other than Pyrrha, Shigure, Izaya, and Weiss. Which the rest clearly knew I was talking about them and not as a whole group together.

"Yeah, let's follow the guy who would likely lead to our deaths." Yang said through her teeth because she still resents me for what happened back in the Apartment.

I didn't so much as glance at her, but didn't need to look at her the way she stops after that one sentence due to a selected few people glaring at her for her bad comment.

While I kept my [Ecological Derivation System] up and updating everything around me, to a large scale of scanning the whole base for any hidden or incoming enemies returning back from the battle against me. Which I strongly believe they would due to the major losses of troops I killed off in my moment of unstable mind.

Not bother to continue arguing with Yang when we're on a time limit. I pick Yukiko up in a bride carry position and rush out of the building from the other end of the tunnel I created just a few minutes ago.

With the other hot on my tail, with Narberal being more faster to take Yukiko away from me, which I didn't bother to fight over her and toss the shrieking Yukiko over to Narberal, who almost dropped Yukiko due to being surprised I just throw her Mistress like nothing after I just took her away to make the others follow along.

"So was there any troubles while finding these two?" I ask the others, but mostly at my little sister and close friends than the rest. "Because I feel like this should be a lot harder than it should be. Compared back in Mistral, this would have taken hours to get in and escape."

Pyrrha was the one to answer my question before the others could say something first, "Well, technically this would have taken hours for us, if you haven't come here to create a route for us to escape this place before we get caught. Which I'm very sure we're under Atlas' radar by now. No chance of denying it when the Atlas' military was already ready to face us and manage to find us easily enough back at the Apartment."

"Here I thought the White Fang are crazy and an unstable group, but just spending time with Pyrrha's friends and brother. I guess I was wrong." Blake thought out loud by accident, where all of us heard her and she realized what she has done upon seeing almost everyone is looking at her while we continue running to the end of this tunnel.

With a swipe of my hands; tossing both of my [Mana Guns] back in my [Inventory] and two dark blue colors [Combat Knives] appear in my hands. A finished [Magical Weapons] crafted by [Edea Florence], Shigure, and I 3 months ago back at Mistral.

Where Shigure created the core and [Edea Florence] turning it into a [Magical Knife], with me finishing it off by engraving [Rune] onto it, to give it more effects.

[Item Type]: [Magical Knife]

[Name]: Ice Thorn

Durability: 100%/100% (Weapon)

Quality: Uncommon

Grade: C-

Value: 3000 System Points

Description: A [Magical Weapon] of a [Combat Knife] crafted in unknown methods, which the creator has in mind for this [Magical Knife] to stop a target's movement for the user to continue off their assassination if they failed to kill the target with a single hit.

[Ice Conversion (Repair|Scatter)]: The ability to repair itself by devouring [Ice]-based materials and could reverse the process to create an [Ice Haze] to cover a target in frost to stop their movement, with the effect lasting until the [Ice Haze] melts enough for the target to break free.

[Rune: Bufu]: Inflicts small [Ice] damage to the target and 10% chance of freezing the target after the target receives damage. Freeze disables the target's physical movement for 1 minute.

[Rune: Rakunda]: Decrease the target's [Defense] by 20% for 3 minutes after the target receives damage.

[Rune: Ice Break]: Reduce the target's [Ice Resistance] to average upon contact.

It's a good thing, the materials and time to craft these [Ice Thorns] are not pricey or time-consuming. Compared to other [Magical Weapons] process of crafting; these [Ice Thorns] are close to the level as a consumable [Item]. Just the [Ice Conversion]'s effect alone is what made it close to being a consumable [Item] due to the [Ice Haze] alone.

Making the [Ice Thorn]'s blade gone until reabsorbing the [Ice Haze] or find/create [Ice]-based materials for it to absorb to repair itself. Which was easy with [Ice Dust] or using my [Ice Magic].

Even Izaya use these after finding out what they do and since he is also a [Knife] user as well; these are great for his usage in future battles. Plus, they could act as a life-saving weapon due to the [Ice Thorn]'s [Ice Conversion] alone to allow him to activate his semblance from the extra few seconds of stopping the enemy from stopping him before he could escape their sight.

Activating [Moonlight Step]; I appear at the end of the tunnel before everyone else and slash to my right, where a Hunter was about to look inside the abnormally formed tunnel and end up a slash to their throat. Much to their shock and horror.

To make it much worse for the Hunter, who quickly grab their throat to apply pressure in the hope their aura would quickly heal up the wound before they die of blood loss due to their aura shield didn't give any resistance to the surprise attack and bypass it instead.

Instead of worrying about blood loss, the Hunter quickly discovered that something is stuck in his throat and felt very cold.

I clicked my tongue at the [Rune: Bufu]'s 10% chance of freezing didn't activate and only the small [Ice] damage was applied, where [Ice Thorn] don't cause any blood to appear as the [Ice] would cover the wounded way before the blood could leak out.

What [Ice Thorn] causes upon inflicting any wounds are frostbite and to make it even worse than it already is. [Ice Thorn] will make any [Water] into [Ice], which lead to the blood to freeze solid and creating a block in the path for the blood cells to flow through.

I spin around to my right and send a roundhouse kick to their neck, causing it to break further than it already is and send them flying into the tunnel. Where the others saw this before their eyes and among them felt very disturbed at this cruel method to kill this Hunter, even to some of the hunter-in-training feel sorrow of seeing a fellow comrade as a Hunter die like this.

Not pausing for a moment and continue off my attack at the dumbfounded platoon of Hunters. Taking out the second one the closest to me by going for the throat once more, where I've successfully dealt the killing blow easily enough due to [Moonlight Step] still activated.

After all, these Hunters couldn't match my current speed and only could see a blur in their sights before realizing their throats are already slashed by my [Ice Thorns].

Under a single minute; a platoon of Hunters are already killed off by me alone before the others could reach me, with Shigure being the first to arrive before me and Izaya coming in second before the rest arrive.

I didn't wait for some of them to speak their questions, where they wanted some answers, which I've no time for and continue rushing back to the Apartment Building where Ruby, Nora, Jaune, and Ren are still there.

The others, seeing this couldn't help scolding me in their hearts, but follow along while I deactivate [Moonlight Step] to allow the others to catch up with me or else I would have outrun them way before they reached the end of the tunnel; well, some of them would have bound to catch up with me easily enough.

45 minutes later*

(Atlas: Atlas City: South District: Unknown Apartment Building: Outside Area)

"Come back here! I'm not-" Yang was about to continue off shouting at me, but was finally cut off by her own partner, who clearly remember who I am and what I could easily do, along with the facts that I have proved to take on an army; well, it's more like company than an army back at the Vale Kingdom.

For Atlas an hour or so ago; it's around above a brigade in the typical numbers I faced, with Neo and [Edea Florence] as my backup. Neo wasn't really needed in the first place, but was to give her some experiences in facing large numbers of enemies since the Second Great War has already started.

But, some of us don't know what an army's numbers truly is. But, they will later in the future and maybe sooner than they could be ready and prepare for the dreadful known as 'War' mentally or physically.

"Yang. Quiet already." Blake hiss at her partner, who wanted nothing more to continue shouting at the guy that badmouthed her little sister. As her overprotected sister pride continue to urge her to accomplish her mission to defend her little sister.

"If you haven't forgotten. Pyrrha's older brother could easily kill you with just a single finger if he wanted to and I'm not joking either. I have watched him kill someone with a single finger piercing through their head before when I was still a member of the White Fang. Furthermore, the guy he killed had aura and was in peak condition too." Blake quietly informs her partner of what kind of monster she is trying to anger and could highly likely kill her and everyone she cares about.

To prove Blake's point; I stab my [Ice Thorn] into one of the soldiers trying to sneak into the Apartment Building, directly into their right eyes and pulled out right away less than a few seconds before the dying soldier could react at all.

I didn't just stop with just one death and stab another one in the heart with ease, then shove them away at the same time I pull my [Ice Thorn] out of their heart.

As I continue to move forward and enter the building, leaving behind a few people that went pale at this quick kill. Which is mostly both Blake and Yang; well, mostly for Yang as she finally got out of her overprotective sister mode and finally see reality.

The others quickly follow after me while both Blake and Yang took a few minutes to speak with each other before catching up with the rest of us back in the temporary room we're using.

few minutes later*

(Atlas: Atlas City: South District: Unknown Apartment Building: Temporary Bedroom)

On the way upstairs; there weren't many soldiers on our way to the other's room while we killed those soldiers, but we didn't see any Huntsmen or Huntresses at all. So they must have sent all of them back to the base. Leaving the soldiers to search through for any clues about what reasons for us to come to Atlas in the first place by looking through the building we used as a temporary place to stay.

Plus, some of them even shouted Weiss' name and even continue to shout about how they wanted to 'rescue' her from us and even accusing us of being the bad guys for kidnapping her.

Afterward, we made it back with a relief Ruby and a happy grin from Nora, which is forced due to worrying about her childhood friend. And said the childhood friend is currently hurt and hasn't woken up yet.

"You guys are back!" Ruby cheer in happiness and rush over to hug her sister, with a refreshing smile. She was beyond worry about the others and if she didn't know how the criminals she not trying to put in jail was with them, who are very powerful on their own field. Could help protect her friends and sister, not that she thinks the others are weak.

Ruby felt it's still a little weird having a friend's older brother and their friends as criminals, who she should try to capture them before they could cause more crimes, but she clearly knew her limit and wasn't a match for them, let alone face them all at once when she beyond her level with just one of them.

On the plus side, Ruby loves talking with Shigure as a fellow weapon lover! All the classic she read in books was shown before her eyes and the books got nothing on the weapons Shigure took out for her to see. Making it more bearable for her to hang out with these criminals.

"Did anything interesting happen while we were gone?" Weiss asks her partner, who still hugging Yang as we speak. "Because if you say the soldiers entering this building without your notice, then we're going to have to do some awareness training. And I don't mean by just throwing rocks at you to dodge."

Ruby shiver at Weiss due to the fact she has seen those so-called awareness training when both Pyrrha and Weiss decided to continue off their training while still attending at the Beacon Academy. The first few months and she already feel inferior upon watching them literally firing at each other while both of them staying in a small circle and then shoot each other with a pair of [Pistols] near blank range.

As they try to block or move just a bit to dodge before they end up getting shot at. Furthermore, they even use aura enhance to speed up the pace and [Bullets] are flying everywhere.

So yeah, Ruby didn't want to go into something like that again, yes she went through it, in her defense, she thought her semblance would make this training look easy. Who knew that with her semblance that literally is speed itself, would end up getting shot more than 5 times under a second by her own partner before she could even react.

Before Ruby could give a rejected response to her partner. A silver line blurs straight towards Ruby, who didn't keep her guard up and be aware of her surroundings.

With a flip in reverse grip; I raise my left [Ice Thorn] behind Ruby's back to send it away, which happen to be a half of the part of a scissor of all thing was thrown straight at Ruby's defenseless back. To make it even worse, more half part of the scissors are thrown at everyone in the room.

This leads to a panic among some of us, but most of us calmly block these half part scissors without much trouble and even protected the others.

"Weiss, you should be a good friend and put that little girl, along with anyone else in that awareness training your little group made." An unknown female spoke out from the window, who happen to be outside and leaning inside with a smirk on their face, to show how amusing this whole thing to her.

Everyone looks in the direction of where the voice came from, who helped herself into the room, where everyone could see a young, slender woman with red eyes, long dark hair and a straight-cut fringe that frames her face. She dons a black formal shirt and short black skirt secured by a belt. Over this, she wears a black coat that has red strings looped at the neck, hips, and bottom. Also, wearing thigh high black high heel boots under them. She wears long black stockings that reach up to her mid-thighs and a red holster-like pouch that is strapped onto her left thighs above the stocking, showing silver scissors in them.

"Crap. It's my cousin." Izaya mumble to himself, which everyone could hear him with how the room is so quiet at the moment. Then, Izaya glare at me once he remembers that I'm among the best ones to keep track of everything around us and rarely left anything unnoticed unless something distracts me at the time.

"Nice to meet you kids. I'm Izaya's older cousin: Kirihime Nastuno." The now introduced Kirihime give everyone a mocking smile and some were surprised that Izaya's older cousin appear before them.

"You two are lucky." Kirihime pointed at Nora first and then at Ruby, "If I haven't shown up right before everyone, but you two, left. In a matter of minutes later, 24 Hunters entered the building with their goals to capture the rest of you and 33 soldiers to secure this building to wait for the others to return to a trap by now."

Both Ruby and Nora look at Kirihime with shock and disbelief expressions, where they wonder how in the world a single person could take down multiple enemies on their own without causing much noise for them to hear.

However, after a few seconds later they glance at me and look back at Kirihime, where they remember Izaya is Kirihime's younger cousin so it should be a given that she could take down dozens of enemies on her own.

Izaya continues to glare at me in silence, ignoring pretty much everyone in the room. While some of us are looking at Kirihime, then at Izaya and back to Kirihime. As they continue this a few times.

"Don't look at me. You know she could easily hide under my [Detection] with that [Technique] she created to counter mine just by looking at my [Detection Technique] just a few times to come up with a way to counter it. And she didn't even take a week to do so. Plus, she only revealed her presence after we enter this room." I defend myself right away because Izaya could easily get his payback from me in countless ways.

Izaya lowers his head in sadness and lets out a tired sigh, "Yeah I know. I just wanted to release my frustration, even I know it isn't your fault. For not warning me that my cousin is here."

"That cousin of yours could hear everything you say and she is right here." Kirihime said in a happy tone while ignoring the facts that she standing in the middle of the room, with people scared of her presence and ready to escape from this place.

After all, if someone who could kill off around 2 or so platoons by themselves without causing any noises and continue to go unnoticed by the people inside the building. Speak of their [Skills] in stealth assassination.

"Kirihime why are you here, to begin with?" Weiss asks her fiance's older cousin, who she also deadly afraid of and for good reasons too. But, she has to show a strong appearance before her friends and team.

I had a wry smile on my face, much to the surprise of the others that don't know the reason why. After all, Kirihime is among the many people who could beat me in a fair and an unfair fight up to the present.

Included summoning a few weaker [Persona] against her too, but end up being defeated by Kirihime, which was a big blow to my somewhat pride over having [Persona]. Then again, I've only used weaker [Persona] below the [Persona's Rank: 3] to comfort myself at least.

In the first place, Izaya's older cousin was a shocker to me in the past, because she is also another character from a different anime and other worlds, where she in this world is crazy strong.

Furthermore, she the one who helped me reach [Master Rank] in [Aura Manipulation] and known to be one of the world greatest aura users, who created countless ways to use aura that be counted as a semblance itself, but everyone who truly know Kirihime is that her semblance is very dangerous and she knows how to use it to the fullest. Plus, it's her semblance that played the role in helping her create those [Aura Techniques].

The half parts of scissors happen to be just an aura projection, solid enough and sharp enough to deal fatal damage. Of course, she isn't Shirou Emiya, who could easily spam overpowered weapons like it's going out of style and copy someone's weapon and the experience along with just at a glance.

Nope, luckily she just made scissors or part of them only and anything else is her own creation. And doesn't have a way to copy someone's weapons either, unless she decides to take or recreate Velvet's copying weapon camera.

With [Edea Florence] removing my limiter and having my [Magatamas] extending the duration. Maybe then, I'm sure to have a higher chance of defeating Kirihime, but I highly doubt she gives me enough time to let [Edea Florence] remove the limiter. Still, don't know why it takes at a minimum of one minute to remove the limiter compared to an instant replaced limiter back on.

"Oh, I just wanted to check on my cousin and his little fiancee, with all the things happening everywhere on Remnant. In fact, after hearing you lost your inheritance; I knew right away what my cousin would do and his friends following along to help out. So being the best cousin of the world. I decide to come to Atlas to see if I could get back your inheritance." Kirihime gives Weiss a big smile.

A flicker of emotions past within my eyes, but only Kirihime notice it right away thanks to her semblance. But, didn't comment on it and just relax her position; however, hidden in Kirihime's lazy stance is filled with massive amounts of aura ready to unleash at any noticeable moment.

Some of us may believe Kirihime, but some aren't able to. That happens to be Weiss and Ruby, along with a few others. Izaya, of course, actually believe his own flesh and blood. Not that he would speak this out loud within Kirihime's presence nearby, let alone being in the same room.

Kirihime continues to stare at us with a grin on her face, where RBY and Nora are very nervous at the silence. No one spoke for a whole minute and the tension in the room was so thick one could almost cut it with a [Knife].

"So how did you find us?" Ruby was brave enough to be the first one to speak up and even ask a question that some of us wanted to ask Kirihime the first thing she shows up.

"Ask Enma here how he finds his target without losing them. After all, he was the one who gave me the idea to create a variation of my own." Kirihime pointed at me, without giving out her secret by tossing the question to me instead, for me to answer.

"Don't bother." I said simply to Ruby, without giving her the chance to repeat her question, much to her disappointment and Yang's urge to punch me in the first. But, didn't, because Yang knew not everyone is willing to reveal their own secrets to the world just because someone asked them.

"Anyway, I contacted your Mother, Weiss. And she agreed to provide intel later today after she goes through all the things she needs to do. By the way, we should really leave the area. Because the next wave from the Atlas' military is bound to start soon." Kirihime kindly informed everyone about what she did before coming here. Along with a warning that we need to leave soon unless we want to face another wave from the military and this time, they will send in stronger troops than the ones they sent an hour or so ago against Neo and me.

I had a grim expression of the sudden thoughts of facing an improved version of the next wave coming from the Atlas and rather not do that again anytime soon. Even with all the [System Points], I gained from that battle alone.

I wasted too much [System Points] to recover my aura reserve instead of using it to purchase materials for me to craft many different [Items] for my future use or to make some more lien off it.

"But what about Ren and Jaune?! They're still unconscious and haven't woken up yet." Nora cried in shock of having to move to a different location just after they found a temporary one to let the injured people recover.

I blink at Nora, then at the still unconscious bodies of Jaune and Ren. Before I look at Shigure, who was looking away for some reason and Pyrrha is sighing with her eyes closed while rubbing her forehead.

"Am I missing something here?" I whisper to Izaya, who was too busy staring at Kirihime to hear my question, but from the way Kirihime's smirking. I would have to either ask her what's going on due to her semblance already explaining to her what's going on with Shigure and Pyrrha, or I could ask the girls instead. Didn't take any moment for me to pick the girls since talking to Kirihime tends to get stressful often.

"Well, we just have to carry them with us, that's all." Kirihime didn't look like she that concern about the well being of strangers to her. Even if they are comrades in war, doesn't mean she's going to waste her precious time to help others without benefit in return.

"Or we could just heal them right away." I said dryly, as I walk up to them and cast [Dia] rapidly onto Ren first, then Jaune and under everyone's eyes. There is a green color aura covering their bodies as their wounds disappeared in a matter of seconds.

"Now we wake them up." I didn't let other to catch up what just happen and grab the side of their beds and flip them. Making some of us shout in surprise and in pain for both Jaune and Ren due to the sudden shift in position, where they harshly land on the floor.

"Ow! Who?! What?! Where?!" Jaune jumps to his feet and look both his right and left, with fearful eyes.

Ren just stays lying on the ground, which he regretted right away when Nora jumped at him, with a cheerful look on her face and hug him, causing Ren to grit his teeth at the strength behind Nora's hugs.

"Why didn't you do that the first thing you woke up or come back here the first time?" Blake asks me with narrow eyes, including Yang as well once she realizes I could have healed both Jaune and Ren any time, but why I didn't do it as soon I had the chance to do so.

"Would you believe me if I forgot?" I shrugged at them, but that didn't satisfy them at all. While Ruby didn't care and was happy to be with her first friend from Beacon Academy, as she follows Nora's example and rushed over to Jaune to give him a hug as well.

I raise an eyebrow at this and wonder, maybe Ruby and Jaune had feelings for each other. If Pyrrha isn't interested in Jaune, maybe that's why Ruby decided to go for it since she knew Pyrrha doesn't have any love interests with Jaune.

Looking at Yang, who had a twitchy eye at the sight of her younger sister hugging a friend, a male friend that is, and her overprotected sister urge almost pops right back out after the trouble Blake went to stop her from getting herself and this situation could be similar as we need to move to another location quickly.